149
Ch.149 Migration Preparation
A crowd lined up in a rectangular formation, stretched out in a long line, with trucks and soldiers armed with guns positioned on both sides, and superpower humans. As I began to walk, whistles sounded from around us, signaling to the citizens. To ensure no one fell behind or disrupted the formation.
"Reminds me of childhood. Feels like following a teacher on a walk."
"Instead of whistles, should we chant something?"
"Cat!"
"Meow meow!"
"Kitty!"
"Meow meow!"
"Black Cat!"
"Meow meow meow!"
The citizens, excited at the thought of going to W-City, walked while saying silly things. There was no sense of tension at all. Better than being anxious.
"Wow, look over there! That thing."
"What? The tail?"
"No, that thing…"
"Wow…"
"The balls are fucking huge…"
"Ooooh!"
After warning the citizens following behind me once not to look, I lowered my tail downward.
"Hey hey, Black Cat's getting angry. Stop looking."
"Ah… the royal balls are cute though."
"Did the citizens of W-City witness Black Cat's royal balls?"
"Stop it, they said Black Cat understands words."
"Black Cat! Don't be too embarrassed! Your royal balls are very cute!"
"So Black Cat's male… kinda disappointing…"
[Everyone! Please stop staring at Black Cat's balls!]
Should I just leave them be?
Just as my mood was about to sour, Kage, running alongside me in the lead vehicle, opened his mouth.
"By the way, the rumors were true—you really can talk. Not surprising at this point, though."
The rumors must be about when I spoke in W-City. Seeing the communication antenna on the bus and the tablet in his hand, Kage seems to have been continuously reading about what happened after he lost consciousness.
"If it's alright, why don't we talk a bit on the way? It'll help pass the time."
From now on, we'll be walking at the pace of an ordinary human for about 8 hours—a slow, tedious journey. Having no particular reason to refuse, I vibrated the air to answer Kage.
[Do you have something you want to talk about?]
"Many things. Too many, actually."
[If there's that much, go ask the Meister.]
"He said it'd be better to ask you directly. Hmm? But wait, you knew about the Meister? Was it when you went to W-City? There were no reports of you two talking then."
From his response, it seems the Meister never told anyone about me. Kage muttered, "Whatever," and continued questioning.
"Did you gain the ability to speak after becoming an Annihilation-class? Or could you always talk…?"
[Does it matter when I started speaking?]
"It does. Fine, I'll ask directly instead of beating around the bush."
Kage looked up at me with sharp eyes. A quiet voice—considering the bus's position, a whisper low enough that the other heroes couldn't overhear.
"Were you once human?"
Grr…
Was it a monster learning human speech, or was it because you were originally human that you could still speak after becoming a monster? I let out a grr at Kage's question, as if to say I knew he'd ask that. The researcher's memories—Kage had been chasing already-created monsters and the research facility.
To someone like him, a monster that helps humans and speaks their language would be the most suspicious thing. The reason I hid my human past until now was that I didn't want to be hunted down and killed by Heroes as lab material. Now that I've reached Annihilation-class, there's no need to hide.
[I was human.]
"Phew…"
When I affirmed his question, Kage exhaled with mixed emotions. Then, rapidly, he began pouring out his curiosity.
"Are you on humanity's side? What's your goal?"
[My goal?]
"You and the ones who made you."
[I'm not on their side.]
Suspicion toward me, anger on the verge of sprouting, instinctive fear. Sensing the emotions floating on the surface, Kage frowned at my words.
"Right. If you were, you'd have killed me already."
Collecting himself, Kage lay back on the bed in a relaxed posture.
"Sorry for doubting you. If you were just the mutant monster Black Cat, it'd be one thing, but a monster that was once human… hard to believe."
[You trust monsters but not humans?]
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't take offense. I've never trusted humans to begin with. The only ones I trust are superpower humans. Weak humans can change their minds at any moment to protect themselves."
Despite his words, I didn't sense any resentment toward humans.
"Especially a monster that was once human—even if I trusted it once, it's worth doubting again. I wanted to be sure before we go deeper into the closed zone."
[Not trusting monsters is a good habit.]
"Glad you understand. Then… mind if I ask a few more things?"
[Go ahead.]
"Were you just made by them, knowing nothing?"
[I know some things.]
"You ate a researcher and read their memories?"
I nodded, feeling a strange dissonance. How does Kage know monsters can eat humans and read their memories?
"Why were you in A-City that day?"
[I went to destroy the research facility there.]
"Revenge? Do you still hold a grudge from your human days?"
[I just thought it'd be bad to leave them be.]
"So not revenge, but fear they'd keep taking humans for experiments? Very Black Cat of you."
Another dissonance—the question about lingering human resentment bothered me. I raised my whiskers and studied Kage closely. The monster cells that hadn't fully taken over his heart yet, parts of his body already eroded and mutating. Kage was clumsily controlling the part that had become a monster core. A body no longer fully human, not yet fully monster. That's why he knows monsters can digest human memories and that monster cells consume human emotions and recollections.
[You're sensing the monster's instincts.]
"As expected of an Annihilation-class. You can tell that much."
[What are you?]
"What do I look like to you?"
Seeing the erosion was worse than expected, I asked which side had dominance over his mind. Kage spread his arms as if to say, Take a good look. I lowered my head to the window, observing him closely. The dissonance of the monster core, the sound of his human heart overlaying it, the scent of his emotions.
[You're still human.]
"Still, huh…"
Relieved to hear he was still human, Kage sighed.
"Hearing it from a monster makes it more believable. Puts me at ease."
[Did you think you'd already become a monster?]
"This feeling is just too alien."
As I observed, the monster core in Kage's eroded heart pulsed faintly. A weak throb barely at the Murder-level, the ultra-low-frequency resonance unmistakably characteristic of monsters. The excitement tangled in the reflected wavelengths, the expanding senses trying to sniff out the citizens' anticipation. Sigh. Kage swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he tasted human emotions.
"It's a very strange feeling, being able to taste thoughts and emotions."
Unlike the heightened senses of a superhuman, Kage's expression wasn't pleased at gaining new senses, like growing a tail or wings. His hand trembled like an addict's, his mental appetite stimulated.
"Now I understand why monsters chase humans."
[It's bearable if you endure it.]
"Yeah, it's not unbearable. But the thought that if I lose grip on reason, I'll turn into a monster for good… that's terrifying."
With that, Kage pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Clearly trying to suppress the hunger stirred by the citizens' emotions.
"Though… being able to sense the intensity of emotions in someone's words makes it easy to tell if they're sincere or lying."
That applies to the emotions in my words as a monster too.
"I'm relieved. You really seem to be the Black Cat everyone knows."
[Did you mistake me for something else?]
"I've been wondering. Maybe Black Cat had some other agenda."
After a pause to smoke, Kage confessed his doubts.
"I was the only one chasing them in A-City. Didn't even tell my closest allies, unsure who might be working with them. If the goal was to kill me, turning me into a monster with Yeo Woon-jae would've been enough. Though, Black Cat was an unexpected variable…"
Sending so many Despair-levels just to kill Kage didn't make sense. Similarly, even destroying A-City would've been excessive. Enough to devastate A-City even with Black Cat as a variable.
"Despair-levels are valuable resources even for them. Sending so many just to kill me doesn't add up."
Kage's words echoed what Gu Seo-ryong once said as he turned his gaze toward me from the window.
"And then, you evolved into an Annihilation-class after eating the monsters rampaging in A-City."
[Are you saying they released monsters in A-City to make me an Annihilation-class?]
"If you were a monster they created, that'd be the most likely scenario."
Because they're the ones who make monster weapons. Because they'd want to strengthen a monster that obeys them.
"But even then, they wouldn't deliberately nurture a hostile monster into an Annihilation-class."
Having confessed his suspicions, Kage apologized.
"Sorry. It's all just conjecture. The situation doesn't make sense, so I forced reasons where I could to make it fit."
True, Kage's reasoning is full of holes. But for some reason, it feels like I've grasped the edge of something unseen.
"Glad the weather's nice today."
When I stayed silent, Kage awkwardly coughed, thinking I was upset at his suspicion. I shifted my steps and looked up at the sky.
As he said, the weather was nice today. Bright but not too hot—perfect for citizens to walk for hours. Probably the Meister used his powers to pick the best day for the long journey.
***
W-City, still under Black Cat's protection, remains uneventful. No—W-City's Black Cat Central Park feels uneventful. Under a sky threatening rain, gloomy weather.
"...Hmm."
In the ever-expanding shanty town built by refugees, now overtaken by refugee children on one side of the playground, a young boy leaned against a tree, making strange hand gestures. Movements like stroking a nonexistent beard, an expression and gaze too weary for a child.
"They're late."
Blinking a few times, the boy's eyes gradually sharpened as he muttered to himself.
"Must be debating. Whether it's okay to come to the park with Sagugu today or if they should skip it."
Blinking again, his expression twisted with irritation as he cracked his neck.
"If it weren't for Gu Seo-ryong, I'd have had more time with Unus."
"Even with more contact, nothing would change."
"Maybe one human's mental strength isn't enough to handle the domain."
The boy kept moving his neck, sighing, clicking his tongue, and muttering. As if talking to someone—alone. Then, sensing something in the distance, his eyes widened.
"They're here. Sagugu's already much stronger than Gu Seo-ryong. Couldn't have stopped her even if she wanted to come."
"Gu Seo-ryong's expression is priceless. Did she really not want to come?"
Grinning, the boy's expression shifted as the distance closed. Soon, Gu Seo-ryong and Sagugu would sense him too.
"They already know Unus isn't in W-City right now."
Waving cheerfully, the boy—Ui—smiled widely as Sagugu, perched on Gu Seo-ryong's head, noticed him from afar. Sagugu, who had been clinging to Gu Seo-ryong's head like a forced piggyback ride, kicked off her shoulders and leaped forward, making Gu Seo-ryong's already sour expression twist further. Whoosh! Darting through the crowd like a beast, Sagugu zigzagged toward Ui.
"Ui! Sleep well?! Sagugu slept well! Sagugu ate today! You eat yet?"
"Barely slept. Haven't eaten yet."
"No food yet?! Bad! Big brother said must eat food!"
Ui, unfazed by Sagugu's tackle, replied calmly as Gu Seo-ryong approached, rubbing her shoulders.
"Mom! Ui's hungry! Sagugu wants snacks too!"
Ui, shaken by Sagugu, quietly observed Gu Seo-ryong. Though trying not to show it, she was extremely tense.
"So that's how it is. Buy us some food."
Gu Seo-ryong glared at Ui silently. Unlike usual.